Sebastiano del Piombo
When you see a woman with a man's head in a painting, you can be sure of one thing ... that it is either Judith from the Old Testament, or Salome from the New Testament. The other details will tell you which one of them is being depicted. In today's painting, we have a problem as there are no other details; a young woman moves toward an open window or doorway, beyond which a rolling, hilly landscape unfolds. As she walks, she glances back over her shoulder, her gaze meeting ours. Her arm aligns with a stone parapet, inscribed with the date 1510. Resting on a metal salver, she carries the severed head of a man, its tone a muted gray-green. Her expression is ambiguous—her lips are tightly closed, yet her eyes glisten with a trace of emotion, which is difficult to interpret.
We do not know who originally commissioned the painting, which Sebastiano del Piombo created while still in Venice, shortly before his permanent move to Rome. The atmospheric depth of the distant landscape, rendered with sensitivity and subtlety, reflects the influence of his Venetian mentors, particularly Giovanni Bellini and Giorgione, with whom Sebastiano is thought to have shared a close artistic relationship.
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P.P.S. Art history often offers many riddles. If you like solving riddles, we've got something just for you! Can you guess the themes depicted in these famous paintings? Try our QUIZ: Guess the Biblical Scene!